Significance of US Involvement in WWI - Essay Example

?Sergeant York and WWI Significance of US Involvement in WWI The entry of the United s in 1917 into World War I represents one of the climatic turning points in American history. Its importance, however, hardly exceeds modern America’s collective disregard of it. The World War I had a significant play on the USA’s further development and growth. For corporate America, the war has started long before it began for the common citizens. Charles Schwab, the president of Bethlehem Steel, one of the world’s largest weapons merchants, within first two months of strive took a trip to London having money-making interests in mind where he received contracts from the British government for millions of weaponry shells and ten 500-ton submarines. Assembling of such foreign vessels was against the law, however Bethlehem Steel went ahead with it, and the Wilson administration did not take any action to prevent it from doing so. The company earned $61 million in 1916, which was more than its combined gross revenues for the previous eight years. (Dwyer, 2004) Another thing that the war brought was an influx in funds selling ammunition, which had a positive effect on the economy of the United States. According to Thomas Fleming in The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I, the United States was supplying Great Britain, France and Russia with 40 percent if their war material.(Fleming,71) The president Woodrow Wilson, upon being elected with the slogan “he kept us out of war” only few months later appealed to Congress to declare that a state of war between the United States and Germany. When calling for war, he was appealing to the grates American idea – fight to make the world safe for democracy. (Fleming, 1-3) By the time America officially declared war to Germany, the international banking firm of J. P. Morgan in New York already loaned Britain and France $2.1 billion (which is worth around $30 billion by 2004 measures), and had gained $30 million – around $425 million in 2004 dollars – in profit. (Fleming, 70) Perhaps the next significant fact of participating in the war is best explained by the president Woodrow Wilson’s in his own words when he said, in regards to his conception for American-inspired democratic after-war global peace and harmony and unity: As head of a nation participating in the war, the president of the United States would have a seat at the peace table, but . . . if he remained the representative of a neutral country, he could at best only ‘call through a crack in the door. (Fleming, 79) What Wilson really wanted to get through the war was to raise the status of the USA in the world, for the country to have more influence on an international scale. No American interest was at stake in WWI, the war never affected American territory, however a total of 120, 000 men died. The war significantly raised the authority of the US in major international issues. It allowed the United States to interfere in solving European issues, which did not even concern them. (Thomas, 137) So the most significant changes that World War I brought was a strengthened economy and bigger authority in international matters. Another significant fact about World War I is that it set the stage for War World II. The Life and Death of Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York was born the third oldest of a family of eleven children. The York family just barely managed to make a living by farming and hunting, and York became a proficient marksman at an early age. Prior to the World War I, York was employed on the railroad as a day laborer. He had virtually no experience with money managing and later suffered from chronic fiscal problems. When York had the money, he would spend it, invested it poorly, and would generously give it away to other people who he believed needed it. As York came of age he earned a reputation as a deadly accurate shot and a trouble maker. He would spend too much time drinking and gambling in borderline. He was generally considered a problem and someone who "would never amount to anything." But all this changed when York experienced a religious conversion in 1914. This resulted from two significant events: his best friend, Everett Delk, was killed in a bar fight; another event was a revival conducted by H.H. Russell of the Church of Christ in Christian Union which York attended. The senseless death of Everett made York realize the need for a change in his ways in order to avoid a fate similar to his fallen comrade and prompted him to attend the revival meeting. He had a personal experience of being “saved” by Jesus Christ. He quit drinking, gambling, and fighting. Few weeks later he joined the church. Blessed with a great singing voice, York became the choir leader and a Sunday School teacher at the local church. Through the church, York met a girl who would later become his wife, Gracie Williams. When the United States went to war against Germany, York's new found faith was greatly tested. York received his draft notice from his friend, the postmaster and pastor, Rosier Pile, on June 5, 1917, just six months prior to his thirtieth birthday. Because of the churches’ strong policies against war, Pile encouraged York to seek conscientious objector status based on his church membership. York wrote on his draft card: "Dont want to fight." He filed several appeals but his conscientious objector status was denied both at the local and the state level because the Church of Christ in Christian Union was not recognized as a legitimate Christian church. With great reluctance, York embarked for Camp Gordon, Georgia to receive his basic training. His first few weeks at the army were most miserable in his life, both physically as well as because he was questioning moral reasoning for war. Then he became a member of Company G in the 328th Infantry, which was part of the 82nd Division (also known as the "All American Division”) under the command of the battalion commander George Edward Buxton. York gained a curious reputation – an excellent marksman who couldn’t stand the war. After the weeks of soul searching, debating and counseling about the cause, until finally York would state to his commander, that he considers this war being moral and ordained by God, therefore he agreed to fight. On October 8, 1918, Corporal Alvin C. York and 16 other soldiers were sent to take command of the Decauville railroad behind Hill 223. The map was written in French, so they misread it and mistakenly wound up behind enemy’s lines. After the fire exchange they had a larger German force surrendering to them. There was more fire, and some York’s men died but the operation overall was successful and in the end – nine men had captured 132 prisoners. York was proclaimed as a national hero. On returning to the USA, he received many appealing offers. Instead, York returned home and resumed peacetime life. York died on September 2, 1964 and was buried with full military honors in the Pall Mall cemetery. Many influential people of the US government and military attended the funeral. Gary Cooper portrayed the mountain hero in his great historic movie by Howard Hawks in 1941. References: Birdwell, Michael, “Sergeant Alvin York”, The Great War Society, n.d. Web. 10 April 2011 Dwyer, John J. “The United States and World War I” LewRockwell.com. 2004. Web.10 April 2011 http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/dwyer3.html Fleming, Thomas, “The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I”. Basic Books. 2004. Print Lee, David D. “Sergeant York: An American Hero” University Press of Kentucky. 2002. Print Thomas, E., “The politically incorrect guide to American history”. Regnery Publishing. 2004. Print Read More